MOScout Daily Update: JP Sticks! - Mosley Vs Williams! - SKelton, Shields Enter Senate Races - AAM’s Burn Book - MAPA’s $$ Ask and more…
Situational awareness…be aware: it’s April Fool’s Day.
JP Sticks
Just like that, Speaker Jon Patterson did a second 180 and is sticking with his Senate 8 campaign. One lobbyist called it a “stutter-step,” another theorized he’s “a pleaser” and wanted to help his friend Sean Smith. In the building some folks were crediting Governor Mike Kehoe telling JP he was needed in the Senate. However the gymnastics are diagrammed, JP is in.
· And Smith exited the congressional race and instead landed in House 34 where he will give Democratic Rep. Kemp Strickler a tough race.
Mosley Jumps Into St. Louis County Exec Race
If the Senate Dem Caucus meetings were awkward before, they’re going to be downright TENSE now… Sen. Angela Mosley jumped into the St. Louis County Executive race yesterday, the final day for filing. Of course, her colleague, Sen. Brian Williams, has been running for County Exec for months.
· Slicing the demographics, two Black candidates could be good for County Assessor Jake Zimmerman. Or maybe, two men candidates is an advantageous scenario for Mosley. But I can’t see anyway that Mosley entering is good for Williams.
More Filing Bits
· It’s interesting that a pair of competitive House districts have no Republican candidate: House 15 (Rep. Ken Jamison, unopposed), and House 47 (Rep. Adrian Plank, unopposed).
· Ike Skelton, the Camden County presiding commissioner, filed for Senate 6. That’ll cut into Lisa Thomas’ Lake of Ozarks base, and make this 6-way Republican primary a real scrum. Skelton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor last year in a dust-up over a license plate reader.
· A second Republican filed in Senate 24. Scott Mathewson ran last cycle in House 90, losing to Rep. Mark Boyko.
· Rep. Brenda Shields and Ryan Gerster filed for Senate 34. I’m not familiar with Gerster yet, but we suddenly have a hot Republican primary here with Shields and Reps. Mike Jones and Sean Pouche.
· It looks like former Rep. Mike Frame filed in House 11. He’s a Democrat labor fellow taking on Rep. Cecelie Williams.
· We’ll have a rematch in House 68. Janay Mosley, daughter of Sen. Angela Mosley, filed to run against Rep. Kem Smith. Smith won their 2024 contest with a slim 225-vote margin.
Christensen Out
Rep. Mazzie Christensen, floated as a possible congressional candidate, released a video saying she was looking forward to tackling her greatest job yet… being a mom. She’s pregnant and dropped her House 2 re-election bid.
· That brought a pivot from Freddie Griffin. He’d filed to run against Sen. Rusty Black in Senate 12; instead, he’ll run for Christensen’s House seat.
Seven Dems Vie to Face Alford
I just never will understand this: the quixotic candidacies. Seven Dems vying in CD-4, a SAFE REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT. I get saying, “Hey no one’s running against Alford, he deserves opposition.” But there’s already 6 Dems running, and yesterday Randy Miller decides he also needs to run?!?
Senate Debate Hemp Beverages
Sen. Karla May wrangled all afternoon/night long with Sen. David Gregory’s SB 904. The central disagreement was that the “pro-ban” senators see “intoxicating hemp” as basically illegal marijuana in disguise, while May, Sen. Mike Moon and others felt there are legitimate hemp businesses that should be regulated not eliminated. After a recess, Gregory brought forth a senate substitute for HB 2641. A compromise was reached which Gregory said failed to achieve a “global deal,” but it imposes a 21-year age restriction on buying beverages. It also pushes back the effective date to align with the federal ban date – a key concession to May.
· MOScouter: Just want to say Jake Silverman put up a hell of a fight and is one of the hardest working and scrappiest lobbyists in the building. Do not underestimate him.
And
One nugget from the long debate… there was bipartisan panning of the new Senate website. Sens. Nick Schroer and Barbara Washington both said they weren’t fans of the layout.
Mean Girls Theme to AAM’s Scorecard
Every year Abortion Action Missouri releases Reproductive Freedom Scorecard that uses a grading scale to evaluate and score lawmakers on their participation in the previous legislative session. Typically, this scorecard is a snapshot of the events in the previous legislative session and explores the issues and priorities of that year… this year's book is especially fun - no, it’s not an April Fools joke, it’s the AAM Burn Book!
MAPA’s Salary Concern
The Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys is making a push this session to address prosecutor pay. They tried to add it to the juvenile justice bill in the Senate, but that language was ultimately stripped out. There’s a brewing crisis as it’s becoming harder and harder to find folks to take the jobs in rural Missouri.
See their map of vacancies here.
Their pitch is that you have to increase pay if you expect the jobs to be filled… “Increasing pay for part-time prosecutors was a particular focus because the association views it as part of a larger structural problem: if Missouri wants to preserve local control through elected prosecutors, it has to make those offices sustainable by addressing compensation, retention, and retirement.”
See their proposed language here.
· There are still a few Senate vehicles left where something could happen, but the window is narrowing.
Breaking Up Is Hard: Willett Shakes Fist – Riggs Joins In
On Twitter, Nathan Willett, who was a happy part of the Axiom constellation until a week ago, lashes out at “Graves Inc.” Rep. Louis Riggs calls Congressman Sam Graves an “absentee landlord.”
Hassinger’s FYI: Speed Kills
The House Transportation Committee hearing on Sen. Jamie Burger’s proposal to lift the highway speed limit to 75 miles per hour drew concern from MoDOT Director Ed Hassinger.
Here are some excerpts…
· We’re the agency that's accountable for roadway safety… It is going to increase fatalities and serious injuries on our roadway… Speed is probably the biggest factor in fatal crashes and serious injuries in Missouri and in the country…
· Our roads are not designed for that high speed. There are no interstates in Missouri that are designed for 75 miles an hour… the ones that we've upgraded in recent years have been designed for a 70 mile an hour maximum speed. But all of those things on the roadway, the curves, the guard cable systems, pavement friction, merge lanes at entrance ramps, Those were engineered the most recent ones were engineered at 70 miles an hour. So, you know, we're putting people in danger pretty much anytime we would raise a speed limit above 70 miles an hour…
· Some of our neighboring states that you mentioned, they have raised their speed limit to 75 on the rural interstates. Here's what their statistics are. In Arkansas, their rural interstate fatalities increased twenty seven percent after they raised the speed limit. In Kansas, they saw fatalities rise twenty two percent.
This drew a rebuke from Rep. Darin Chappell who felt that Hassinger’s “for informational purposes only” testimony wasn’t for informational purposes only.
“I don't know that you are testifying for information purposes only. It sounds like you're in opposition. And I would argue that is an executive department, you ought not be having a position in favor or against, but just giving information. And then the legislature, I actually makes the determination. That's how our republic works.”
Baird on LeVota Breaking His Word
Press release: “Interim Phil LeVota made it clear, more than once in writing and in public statements, that he wouldn’t seek a full term after being appointed. We appreciate his willingness to take on the interim role to prepare the county for new leadership. Now, he ‘says’ he changed his mind. It’s disappointing because trust matters in public service…”
New Candidate Filing
WITHDRAWN – CD-5 - Sean Smith (R); and filed for House 34.
WITHDRAWN – House 2 - Mazzie Christensen (R)
WITHDRAWN – Senate 12 - Freddie Griffin (R); and filed for House 2.
CD-5 – Micah Beebe (R)
CD-6 – Cody J. Oshel (R)
CD-6 - Nathanael Schultz (R)
Senate 6 - Ike Skelton (R)
Senate 6 - J. Don Salcedo (D)
Senate 12 - Judy McNeece (D)
Senate 18 - John Leykamp (D)
Senate 24 - Scott Mathewson (R)
Senate 32 - Imma J Curl (D)
Senate 34 – Ryan Gerster (R)
Senate 34 – Brenda Kay Shields (R)
House 3 - P. Jeremy Mosley (R)
House 4 - Tristan Sutton (D)
House 8 - Amy Minich (D)
House 9 – Gena Puckett (D)
House 12 - Jerry Hickey (R)
House 40 - Thomas D McBeth (D)
House 60 - Shane Kampeter (R)
House 66 - Theresa Hester (D)
House 68 - Janay Mosley (D)
House 76 – Amber Cole (D)
House 85 - Yonnee Fortson (D)
House 89 – Bryan Troop (D)
House 103 - Don Crozier (D)
House 107 - Gary Wester (D)
House 108 - Stephen Scott (D)
House 111 – Michael Frame (D)
House 116 – David Todd (R)
House 121 – Keith Pritchard (R)
House 138 - Chris Daugherty (D)
House 140 - Angela Romine (R)
House 153 - Les Majors (D)
$5K+ Contributions
Lead the Way PAC (pro-Vogel) - $25,000 from Kimberly Vogel.
Heart of SGF PAC (pro-Stinnett) - $10,000 from Loren Cook.
Eigel for Missouri - $100,000 from Believe in Life and Liberty PAC.
Eigel for Missouri - $30,000 from Patrick Melson.
Eigel for Missouri - $25,000 from Gary Schneider.
Real Conservatives for St. Charles County PAC (pro-Ehlmann) - $50,000 from Kolb Grading.
Real Conservatives for St. Charles County PAC - $10,000 from John Oconnell.
House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $8,500 from Diehl for Missouri.
House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $6,240 from Citizens to Elect David Casteel.
House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $15,000 from Missouri Leadership PAC (pro-Riley).
The Committee for Better Schools and Neighborhoods - $10,000 from BlaqueKC.
Taxpayers Unlimited, Inc. - $32,000 from KCFOP Political Action Committee.
Best Start for Kids STL - $10,000 from Youth in Need.
Taxpayers Unlimited, Inc. - $50,000 from IAFF, Local 42 FirePAC.
Committee for Kenda Tomes McClain 4 KC - $100,000 from Kenda Tomes McClain.
Berko For Judge - $10,000 from Alyssa Mayer Berko.
Vote Yes For Planning and Zoning - $25,000 from Missouri Realtors.
Citizens for Jason Johnson - $10,000 from Chad Schuchmann.
Lobbyist Registrations
Nexus Group added Talkiatry Management Services LLC.
Kyle McDermott added Eli Lilly & Company.
Jay Reichard and Gunnar See deleted Heidner Properties Inc.
Andrew Oestreich added Missouri Pharmacy Association, MOEMSAC, Pharmacy Agent Corporation, and Comprehensive Pharmaceutical Services Inc.
Sam Wiles added J&J Ventures Gaming LLC.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthdays to Rep. Mark Meirath, Mike Wolff, and Joelle Cannon.